Portable electronic devices such as smart phones and tablet devices are becoming more ubiquitous as underlying technology and device capability improves. Generally, with improved technology comes more portable and advanced devices. These devices incorporate numerous components that support various device functions and applications. For example, current smart phones include components that support various types of wireless communication, image and video capture, audio and video playback, data storage, and/or the like.
To maintain portability, electronic devices have dimensions that are generally constrained to be smaller. As a result, the sizes of the device components are also constrained, which impacts device and component performance. For example, smart phone cameras are limited in the size of image sensors and the physical size of lenses, which negatively affects image quality and general camera versatility. Portable electronic devices also lack viewfinders because, among other reasons, display screens of the devices may support a live preview function. However, this forces the users to hold the device at an outstretched position, which causes the cameras to be more susceptible to camera shake. While some electronic devices contemplate incorporating modular camera components, these modular camera components are bulky and unwieldy, which is generally not desirable in consumer devices.
There is therefore an opportunity for modular imaging components that are equipped with more advanced features but are capable of conforming to the physical dimensions of the supporting electronic devices.